Year 5 · SPaG · Modal verbs and adverbs of possibility
Year 5 recognising adverbs of possibility worksheet and PowerPoint
To recognise adverbs of possibility and to say how certain they make a sentence sound.
How certain are you?
Adverbs of possibility tell the reader how certain the writer is. Some show that something is sure to happen, some that it is probable and some that it is only possible.
| certain | certainly, definitely, surely, obviously, clearly |
|---|---|
| probable | probably, presumably |
| possible | perhaps, maybe, possibly |
Examples
- It will definitely rain. / It will probably rain. / Perhaps it will rain.
Key words
- adverb of possibility
- shows how likely or certain something is
- certain
- sure to happen or be true
- probable
- likely, but not sure
- possible
- may or may not happen
What is on the worksheet
Every sheet for this lesson has a short teaching box and 12 questions that get gradually harder: 8 fluency questions, then 4 reasoning questions that ask pupils to explain or choose. A writing challenge follows. The questions use the same styles as the key stage 2 grammar and punctuation test (circle, underline, tick, fill the gap, add punctuation, rewrite, explain). They are written for this website, not copied from past papers.
All the answers are on the last page of the same editable Word file. New questions are made every time, so you can print a different sheet for every group or for homework. The same sheet code always gives the same sheet.
Writing challenge: Write a weather forecast for the week. Underline every adverb of possibility and put them in order from least to most certain.
Pupil target: I can find adverbs of possibility.
The PowerPoint
A 20-slide lesson deck for the same lesson: a starter that revisits earlier learning, key words, an I do and a You do question on each slide with a countdown timer, answers that appear one click at a time, and a challenge. Download the recognising adverbs of possibility PowerPoint.
Where this lesson fits
This is lesson 25 of 43 in the Year 5 SPaG scheme, in the block “Modal verbs and adverbs of possibility”.
Other lessons in this block
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